The Ocasio-Cortez Threat

Ridicule is a powerful weapon, but must be used with care.

The Democrats and the Republicans have long been referred to by
pundits as the Evil Party and the Stupid Party, respectively. The
Democrats are the Evil Party because their policies are destroying the
liberties and traditions that made this country great. The
Republicans are the Stupid Party because, although by and large they
claim to believe in good policies, they are unwilling to fight for them
in any meaningful way.

Conservative voters and ordinary
salt-of-the-earth Republicans have finally figured this out; that's why
we have President Donald Trump. He is not recognizably a
Republican per se, but he is willing to fight
with both feet, both fists, his knees, his elbows, and his teeth.

But there is a right way and a wrong way to fight against the
policies
being promoted by ill-informed left-wing fascists like Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez and Beto O'Rourke. Our fight is handicapped by the
long decades when there was no serious fight going on and the
Left has had complete control of our organs of public information and
education.

Thanks to massive voter ignorance caused by intentional
misinformation
from the media and union-dominated public schools, we can no longer
count on voters seeing
through the impracticalities of what leftist politicians say they want
to do.
After all,
American voters elected the Obysmal Barack Obama, not once, but twice -
and he's still the most popular living president.

Before we can regain traction in overcoming the Left and pushing
back their policies, we have a huge mountain to climb: that of
educating the American people just why, for example, socialism,
welfarism and big government are Bad Things. We can't just assume
everybody knows this, the way we could in the 50s. Our main
concern is that we must be extremely careful not to mock
them in a way that increases their support.

We do have to mock
our opponents to show our side just how
terrible they are -
that helps us maintain turnout of the conservative base. Donald
Trump has been spectacularly effective at this, to his benefit and to
ours, but despite his best efforts, he hasn't expanded his base
significantly. Our opponents concede that his base is solid, but
they're peeling off some of the less fervent.

No matter how effective it is, our mockery won't get
through
to their base, and in a 50-50
nation, we must bring people over to our side. What's worse,
ill-advised mockery can actually strengthen
the opposing
message if the fundamental beliefs of the two sides are sufficiently
far apart, as they are today.

Spectacular Own Goals

For example, in the 2016 Presidential primaries, the MSM repeatedly
mocked candidate Donald Trump for saying ridiculous things such as
"We'll build a wall and Mexico will pay for it."

The inhabitants of our lyin' lefty liberal bubble didn't realize how
many "deplorable" voters would think this was a Very Good Idea.
They assumed that the voters would see through what they were convinced
was utter nonsense, view
Donald Trump as a joke, and vote for serious, "most experienced
candidate ever" Hillary. Instead,
vast throngs of voters leapt upon Donald Trump's bandwagon with glad
cries of "Finally, a politician who says what I think!" The rest
is history.

Those
of us who know how impractical "free college" would turn out to be in
practice must remember that "free college" was merely the first of the
"big
frees" which Sen. Bernie Sanders would probably have ridden to the
Democrat nomination for President if Hillary's DNC hadn't cheated
him. It is, of course, ridiculous: haven't we seen enough
articles about the decline of college standards and the vast number of
utterly worthless degrees to know that charging
all college costs to the taxpayers would simply bankrupt us faster
without
accomplishing anything useful?

The trouble is, neither Bernie's base voters nor AOC's have read those articles.
What
most people have seen is the objective fact that a college degree has,
for no objective reason that anyone can sensibly express, become just
about an absolute requirement for
any kind of job that pays a living family wage. They've also
seen the truly monumental average student debt load, a relatively new
phenomenon which blights at least the first ten years of most
people's adult lives.

Now, both of these serious and very real problems should be directly
blamed on (mis)government. The unnecessary college-degree
requirement
is largely caused by antidiscrimination laws; if companies fail to hire
a given minority no matter how grossly disqualified or unappealing they
might personally be, they'll be sued even if there's no evidence of
actual intentional discrimination due to race. But if they simply
state the requirement of a college degree, that provides them with a
perfectly legal and bureaucratically simple way to weed out most of the
riff-raff of all races. The massive cost to young Americans and
to a society that is stuck paying for educational credentials that most
people don't actually need in order to do most jobs is neither the
companies'
problem nor their concern.

And the ever-growing cost of college is also caused by excessive
government regulations which have caused a monumental increase in the number of highly-paid
university administrative staffwho
do nothing academically beneficial; they simply check the
ever-multiplying government form boxes required to accept federal
loans. In turn, those loans make it marginally possible for
students to continue to attend. If federal student loans were
gotten rid of, most students would be unable to pay the inflated
tuition; colleges would either have to cut costs by sacking
administrative overhead or shut down due to lack of sales. Either
way, life would be more affordable for all concerned - save the
laid-off administrators who'd now have to find a real job.

And that's it's in nobody's interest to tell the kids this: not the
universities, not the government, and certainly not the media.
It's much easier for everyone simply to complain that it's the
government's job to provide the educational "requirements" for modern
work, and let power-hungry politicians make the corresponding
promises. We can't count on enough voters seeing the
silliness of liberal
programs because the rise of Mr. Sanders and his younger acolytes was
enabled by the destruction of
our
education system.

In one form or another, the
"free lunch" fantasy has led to millions of deaths
in the Soviet Union, China, Venezuela, and other places, but our young
people haven't been taught about that. On its face, though, it is
a quite attractive
idea. Convincing people that they're broke because "the rich"
are
selfish and won't pay their "fair share" is a lot easier than
convincing them that they need to get a degree in a viable subject,
get a job, and earn whatever they want.

Never forget the reason Mr. Sanders' "you're entitled" message was
far more popular than Dr. Ben Carson's "get to work" was.
"You
deserve" is also how Democrats have held the black vote since the
Great Society welfare programs were put in. This well-disproved
notion is accepted because Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's supporters are
as ignorant of economics as she is.

It's not as if the facts were
hidden in any way. The Tax Foundation tells us:

In 2014, the top 1 percent of taxpayers accounted for more income
taxes paid than the bottom 90 percent combined. The top 1 percent
of taxpayers paid $543 billion, or 39.48 percent of all income
taxes, while the bottom 90 percent paid $400 billion,
or 29.12 percent of all income taxes.

The rich aren't stealing from the poor, quite the contrary: they're
paying overwhelming majorities of all taxes, which is what you'd
logically expect to occur since that's where the money is. Of
course, you could simply confiscate their wealth - but then who'd be
left to pay next year's bill?

The problem is that, in a capitalist society, the way anyone gets
rich is by making a profit in some fashion. Beto, AOC, and their
followers are all totally convinced that profit is
evil - just as most of them have been taught from the cradle.
Profits are pried from the bleeding fingers of downtrodden
employees or customers; why shouldn't they use political power to
extract their "fair share"?

They don't realize that profit fuels
civilization. How did the Babylonians decide that there are 360
degrees in a circle? They had enough farming surplus that a few
men could spend time in research. How did Euclid and Socrates and
Plato and Maxwell have time to think? There was an
agricultural surplus.

How did we get the iPod? From the profits Steve Jobs made on
the Apple Mac. How did we get the iPad? From the profit Mr.
Jobs
made on the iPod. If government had taken his profits away, we
wouldn't have these technological marvels.

The Power of Bias

When it comes to public relations, their situation and Mr. Trump's
could not be more unlike. Mr.
Trump
was an outsider and neither party's elite appreciated him at all.
When
the MSM spoke about what he said, it was only to mock. Part of
his genius and their ignorance was that their ill-thought-through
mockery helped spread his message to a receptive national audience.

AOC and
Beto
are entirely different - they are insiders being pushed by the liberal
establishment. The MSM will cover for them by being silent
on actions that would instantly terminate any Republican's career, like
Beto leaving the site of a hit-and-run accident or
his
promoting the gentrification of large neighborhoods
so that his wife's
wealthy family - yes, Mr. O'Rourke wisely married into a family of
plutocrats - could add even more wicked, wicked profit to their already
overflowing coffers.

It is not possible for conservatives to attempt to dispose of what, to
them, are transparent loons by ridiculing their lunacy. We might
get a laugh by contemplating AOC's absurd financial
miscalculations, but if we make fun of her plans to make college
and healthcare free, half the country will simply hear "AOC will make
college and healthcare free!" and run to the polls to vote for her.

So how do we fight them? Well, when there's an opportunity for
an actual discussion, we can engage folks in conversation and hope they
still have a residual handful of functional brain cells. You
might ask
them, who
pays for college? If college is important enough that they
want me to pay for it, why shouldn't the student pay? Why
should I pay for your voters' goodies?

This won't get any traction with the far left, of course, who
believe Somebody Else should pay for everything they want, but we need
to pound that home anyway because that idea of "who pays" still has
an appeal to moderates. To this end, enlightened self-interest is our
friend.

Why pay more for health care? Obamacare was supposed to cut
costs,
and we paid plenty more for it.

"Why should I pay for your stuff?" cuts both ways, of course. As
we
criticize our big-spending opponents, we need to keep our own house in
order. This means:

No taxpayer bailouts, even for reasonably conservative farmers.

No taxpayer subsidies for ethanol; alas and to their shame, no
Republican politician seems
to
have the guts to do that in Iowa, the land of King Corn.

Entitlement reform - our entitlements are completely out of
control,
and voters on both sides need to be educated about it.

Education Takes Time, But Smart Ridicule Doesn't

Explaining to the "free lunch" generation that somebody has to pay
for all the activities that happen behind the scenes before anyone
can eat a lunch of any kind will take time. In the
meantime, we
can go after AOC by carefully
illustrating the ridiculousness of her positions.

For instance, she threatened to subpoena Donald Trump Jr. because
she didn't like
some of his comments about her. Instead of pointing out that
threatening voters with retribution through the subpoena power is
against the House regulations, he had answered her question "Why are
you
so afraid of a socialist economy" by pointing out that Americans would
rather walk their dogs than eat them.

This is a reference to the socialist miseries of Venezuela where price
controls have made toilet paper a luxury good. Our MSM hasn't
been all
that forthcoming about the miseries of Venezuela - the total failure
of socialism has never been fit to print - but if someone asks,
"What is he talking about?" you can explain.

You might also gain some converts by asking, "So, AOC wants to haul
in for questioning someone who is
making fun of her?
Is that the kind of politician we want in America? Doesn't that
sound more like an old-time politician in a different place who wore a
funny
mustache?"

Similarly, Cory Booker, another 2020 wannabe, wrote an
entire article detailing his sexual harassment
of a women in his younger years. He rightly admitted this was
wrong. Is apologizing for these kind of actions sufficient,
though? At the very least, learning about this double standard
might make some of his
supporters a bit less enthusiastic.

The MSM has gifted AOC, Beto, Cory Booker, Bernie Sanders, and several
others with name recognition and fame that it
took Mr. Trump decades of hard work to achieve via his airline, his
casino, his Trump Tower, his golf courses and resorts, and finally his The Apprentice TV show.

To be fair, they've contributed some skill: AOC is as gifted at
twitting her followers as Mr. Trump. Hordes
of
useful idiot voters hang on her every tweets which
will never be censored no matter how much genuine hate she expresses
for working people. She's a formidable
enemy of our freedoms!

Once again, the Trumps show the correct response. As Mr.
Trump's namesake son did, we must react to
her jibes in such a
way that she lashes back in more and more incoherence and blatantly
obvious
unAmericanism. True worshippers won't change, but judicious
publicity
of their worst doings will sway thinking independents. And if
there aren't enough of those left to make a difference, we're doomed
anyway, so let's make the best of the opportunity.

I genuinely applaud your optimism. I fear, however, that all the major issues of the day have now been boiled down to their irreconcilable differences. When the age old tools of reason, logic and historic precedent have been summarily discarded by half the country, the path forward looks pretty grim. I just can't remember the last time I heard someone say "You're absolutely right; how could I have ever been so wrong...up till now my life has been a lie; you've shown be the truth , the way and the light. Thank you".Humans just don't do that....especially in these days of identity politics. People's identities are so wrapped up in their beliefs that if they COULD be convinced they were wrong, their only option would be suicide.All that cheerfulness aside, thank you for a well done piece and a Merry Christmas to you and the other stalwarts at Scragged.

December 17, 2018 9:04 PM

bsinn said:

Great insight about pretty shallow people. One of their arguments that seems to work is “... if Europe can give out free stuff, why can’t we ? “ Since most of their followers have no idea where/what Europe is, it seems to get a lot of amens. Europe is in big trouble because they can’t really afford their welfare and “ free” healthcare system. Just about all the countries not called Germany, borrow heavily because they know the industrious Germans back the Euro. And the quality of “free” health care is pretty shabby. May be worth some effort for a Republican pol to explain why euro socialism doesn’t really work. It’s easy to mock Venezuela, but if Italy is in trouble, it may get a second thought.

December 17, 2018 10:20 PM

Mark Johnson said:

Do you really want to lump Beto in with that NY woman? Beto has a certain amount of sleaze but otherwise sounds like an ordinary politician.

December 17, 2018 11:07 PM

Nate said:

I don't know how we would go about ridiculing this, but there has to be a way. Please note the claim to be representing "all women!"

Miss Spain makes history as first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe pageant

Simply by representing her country this year, Ponce became the first transgender woman to compete in Miss Universe. After the preliminary rounds, the 27-year-old model said it was “an honor and pride” to be part of the history of the pageant.

“This is for you, for those who have no visibility, no voice, because we all deserve a world of respect, inclusion and freedom,” Ponce wrote on Instagram on Friday. “And today I am here, proudly representing my nation, all women and human rights.”

Though Miss Universe — and other beauty pageants — have undergone scrutiny (and changes) in recent years to avoid objectifying women, Ponce said she embraced the competition as a chance to fulfill not only her personal ambitions but also to be an ambassador for Spanish culture.

For her national costume, she donned a traditional Spanish “bata de cola.”

“This is an iconic piece in Spain, also known all over the world,” Ponce explained on Instagram. “It is a precious reference of my country.”

Ponce said she had been dancing the flamenco since she was 6 years old. For the longest time, her dream was merely to perform the dance while wearing a flamenco dress. That didn’t happen until she was 17 years old.

“For a long time those were things I always wanted to do,” Ponce told Miss Universe organizers. “I put so much focus into it, that in the end, it became a reality.”

She smiled and motioned to herself, as if to emphasize: She wasn’t just wearing a flamenco dress now. She was wearing one at Miss Universe.

December 18, 2018 10:52 AM

Kay said:

I’m afraid I have to agree, on all points, with F. Johnston. Although there is hope of persuading moderates, for many on the left politics has replaced religion, and the devotion to their beliefs rivals that of the most fervent Christian—without, of course, the Christian obligation to show kindness and mercy to their enemies. Leftists are similar to the Inquisitors, searching assiduously for any doctrinal departure and finding the infidels who hold wrong opinions to be worthy of forced recantation or death.

December 18, 2018 12:37 PM

Jack said:

Obama and his 57 states is absolutely correct.

If you look up the definition of "United States" in the United States Code USC you will find many definitions, however, each of them geographically, boils down to this:

The term United States includes District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands, Guam and other territories of the Untied States. This term does not include the 50 Union States. Yes there are 57 States. 50 Union States and 7 States of the United States.

These two groups of States are different as night and day. That difference is what makes the Republic. But does anyone even know what the Republic is or how it is structured?

Unfortunately, the Congress that is the what we call the Federal Government, has turned the Republic on its head and is transforming the governmental structure from a Constitutional Republic to Democracy. All, right in front of the faces of the people of this nation but no one knows it and most do not care.

December 19, 2018 7:26 AM

Mitchell Harris said:

While the analysis is valid no substantive solution is put forth. Educating the populous begs the question as to how. Here the liberals have the decided advantage; a short, emotional layned message (not paying their fair share, profits and businesses are evil etc.), free benefits (college education, health care, living wages etc.), focus on "aggrieved" minorities most susceptible to their message and educational and media bias. The conservative message is more complex and fact based which, given the short attention span of voters, is a more difficult sell. We then should rip a page from the Alinsky manual and act accordingly. For example he talks of freezing your opponent and we should always refer to liberals as socialist which is still a dirty word in America. Equally devastating is referring to them as atheist in a country where 70% of the population profess some religious affiliation or belief. Unfair of course, but throw away a fact based message and substitute a message relying upon an emotional response.

December 23, 2018 3:43 PM

Brother John said:

I'm fond of taking to social media and urging Alexandria Occasionally-Cortexted to abandon politics for a career in pornography, a profession for which she is obviously far better suited and in which capacity she will do far less damage.